Psalms

Ps 13 contains a so-called »change of mood« (»Stimmungsumschwung«) between vv.2–5 and v.6, a phenomenon that occurs in individual laments and petitions.
Since the hitherto widely accepted explanation, according to which a priestly oracle of salvation is the cause for the »change of mood«, is now highly disputed, a new evaluation is presented that is based solely on the text of the Psalm. Despite the caesura, there are interrelationships between vv.2–5 and v.6, The expression בחסדך (with Beth causae: »because of your mercy«) in 6a shows what makes possible a new beginning. By the phrase »But I …« ( ואני ) a
new, liberated »I« is introduced that is different from the suffering »I« of the previous verses. Because of the mercy that is granted by God to the one who prays, he is able to express trust (not without recalling previous experiences of mercy). The mode is changing in v.6b, where a jussive is used. Presumably, God’s re-established presence of salvation is expressed proleptically, here. V.6c continues v.6b, and the praise of the heart exits the mouth. A future song is announced, the beginning of the Song of the Sea (Ex 15:1) is intonated and reshaped as an individual thanksgiving song. Finally, the gain of this study is summarized in 9 theses. Accordingly, one can perceive a process of prayer, in which the experiences of distress are not excluded but interwoven in the Psalm. Actual distress has not changed in the present speech of the Psalm, but
the latter expresses confidence in God’s response and anticipates the thanksgiving that is to offer after the petitioner has been rescued. The fact that the present Psalm has been preserved and transmitted may lead us to the conclusion that the words of the Psalm have been heard and answered for salvation and that they had an effect on many of those who prayed by them.

Biblical poetry, in particular the psalms of lament, provides a model of how composing one's own lament and performing it to God can be a positive element in healing the effects of trauma. In an empirical study, Zulu youth who had experienced various forms of trauma, learned to use the model of biblical psalms of lament to compose their own laments. The process of regaining agency, establishing a sense of justice (with an appeal for the perpetrator of the hurt to be punished), and a rekindling of hope for life going forward, all elements of biblical lament, are also vital parts of the healing process. Thus it is suggested that the use of poetry, in the form of biblical lament, can contribute to the healing of those who have suffered trauma.

Among the many psalms that refer to creation, Pss 8 and 104 stand out in being entirely devoted to this theme. Whereas Ps 8 highlights the prominent, even exalted, human role in the created order, Ps 104 contextualizes humanity as but one creature among many in a complex intertwined cosmos. Nevertheless, upon closer study, it becomes evident that both psalms share elements of a common worldview, including a remarkably similar view of what constitutes being human, a conception of the world as a cosmic temple, and a rejection of the motif of creation-by-combat against primordial enemies. An exploration of the diversity-in-unity of Pss 8 and 104 yields insights into how their common theological vision may address the human vocation of the use of power in a world understood as a sacred realm over which God is enthroned, yet into which evil has intruded.

The largest book ever written on the Songs of Ascents: fifteen psalms in 120,000 words. Chapters 1 to 7 deal with the Ascents Songs’ unique place in the Book of Psalms, of numerological codes, of their heading, of their life-setting, of the ark of the covenant which they sing about, of their composition and first performance, and of their authors. Chapters 8 to 10 deal with their performance by the Levite singers and musicians on the fifteen eastern steps of the temple on the first night of the Feast of Sukkot. Chapters 11 and 12 approach the reconstruction of the temple psalmody from the Masoretic cantillation, guided by church and synagogue chant. Chapter 13 provides reconstructions of the ancient melody of each Song, followed by commentary. Chapter 14 considers the Songs within the redactional agenda of the Book of Psalms. Chapter 15 takes the musical and liturgical practice of ancient Israel as a pointer towards the central place of song in modern worship. There follow four appendices on: (I) the Tetragrammaton; (II) Solomon’s temple; (III) Hebrew calendar; (IV) the signs revia mugrash and oleh ve-yored. Glossary and bibliography.

Psalm 48 consists of two layers, a basic pre-exilic layer (vv. 2-7, 9,
13-14a, 15) and a redactional exilic layer (vv. 8, 10-12, 14b). Analyzed with the heuristic categories of spatial theory by H. Lefebvre (perceived space, conceived space and lived space), it can be shown, how the pre-exilic text’s praise of the impregnability of Jerusalem as city of God has been revised. This revision changes the perceived space, which the text is based on, into a narrated space, thus preserving trust in God and belief in Jerusalem as the City of God even in the face of destruction and exile.

In partial fulfillment of the course requirements for "Psalms in Depth," this essay is a post-critical and devotional exegesis of Psalm 51, with an emphasis on the themes of repentance and new creation. In particular, this essay is designed to show that Psalm 51 foreshadows the creation of New Humanity in Jesus's own flesh through the New Covenant.

In an era during which more and more people show signs of narcissism, extreme individualistic
views and a lack of empathy for others, the evidence that a definite change in society has taken
place cannot be denied. This change is, in many ways, the result of the fast-growing pace of
development and availability of technology, also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in
terms of which change has become a daily occurrence. Accessibility to the Internet and social
media platforms contributes to the rapid change in society and how people and specifically
younger generations view themselves and approach others. Amid this change, the church must
act as a positive change agent and should not oppose change. Change has become a constant in
the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the church thus needs to become an agent in this process
of change, to reorientate the focus of society and overcome the self-centeredness induced by
current technological progress in society. What should such a focus look like? In answering this
question, perspectives from Psalm 82 and the Old Testament are considered.

This article draws upon a reader-response and canonical-hermeneutical perspective in order to analyze the manner in which 2 Sam 22 and Ps 18 are embedded in their respective literary contexts. Psalm 18’s superscription functions both to guide the interpretation of the following psalm as well as evoke its “Doppelgänger” in 2 Sam 22 (and “behind” it the Song of Moses in Deut 32,1-43). It not only contains a prayer articulated in a situation of distress, as a song of thanksgiving it also retrospectively witnesses to divine acts of salvation that have an abiding validity. This analysis demonstrates that the intertextual reading of biblical texts as a significant moment of the “canon” is not a secondary imposition upon these texts from the outside.

Mit der vorliegenden Studie wird erstmals für die Psalmenexegese eine Monographie unter der Perspektive der interdisziplinären Traumaforschung vorgelegt. Die Arbeit erschließt, wie sich traumatische Ereignisse auf die narrativ-ästhetische Darstellungsform der Psalmen niedergeschlagen haben. Mit Hilfe klassisch-philologischer, literaturwissenschaftlicher und psychologischer Ansätze wird an den einzelnen Psalmen eine Phänomenologie des literarischen Umgangs mit traumatischen Erfahrungen aufgezeigt. Die Traumaforschung dient dabei in zweifacher Hinsicht der Erschließung der Texte: zum einen für ihren antiken Entstehungshintergrund, der kollektive wie individuelle Gewalterfahrungen verarbeitet und zum anderen für die Analyse der rezeptionsästhetischen Aneignungsprozesse der Texte. Die Arbeit liefert wichtige Einsichten für die zentralen Themen der Psalmenforschung: Hermeneutik der Gewalt, Umgang mit Leid, das Gottesbild, die Rolle der Klage, die Anthropologie. Darüber hinaus gibt sie auch Impulse für den aktuellen gesellschaftlichen Diskurs der kollektiven Erinnerung und für das Ausloten von narrativ-poetischen Strategien der Traumabewältigung.

The enemies’ speeches in the psalms reflect a theological controversy: is God really acting in aid of the pious and poor? By inserting its adversaries’ sayings in its own psalmic oration, the “I” of the Psalms arranges a space of relational encounter between ‘himself – the adversary – God’, in which their mutual relations are negotiated. However, in Ps 9/10 and Ps 73 the pious is in danger to adopt the wicked’s sayings and therefore to become wicked himself. Both Psalms can be used to express doubt and to reassure faith.

“This is a remarkable addition to the bookshelves of lovers of the book of Psalms—for prayer, for study, for pure literary enjoyment. The layout of these select loveliest psalms is perfect for readers of all levels and backgrounds, from those with just a basic knowledge of Hebrew to scholars delving into the complex syntax, cantillation system, and poetic devices of Biblical Hebrew. The ingenious page display based on the traditional accents is the cleverest and most useful design I have seen for capturing the text’s grammatical and semantic structure, simplifying a very complex system so that anybody can follow. Pure pleasure!”
—Shmuel Bolozky, Professor Emeritus of Hebrew, University of Massachusetts Amherst

“This work is an excellent introduction to the Hebrew text of the Psalms. It is particularly innovative in its focus on the Masoretic accents of the Psalms. These are usually ignored by students of Biblical Hebrew, but are of great importance for understanding how the Psalms were understood in the Masoretic tradition. The text of the Psalms is transcribed directly from the Aleppo Codex, the most important Masoretic manuscript, with details of the manuscript that do not appear in the standard printed editions. This Reader will bring students closer to the primary manuscript sources of the Psalms.”
—Geoffrey Khan, Regius Professor of Hebrew, University of Cambridge

“I’ve long been a fan of Jonathan Kline’s line of books on the biblical languages, recommending them to students and using them myself—all with great profit. My favorite thus far has been his A Proverb a Day in Biblical Hebrew, but this latest volume, A Hebrew Reader for the Psalms: 40 Beloved Texts, co-edited with Pete Myers, will no doubt jump to the head of the class. Here one finds a treasure trove of information about forty selected psalms that does exactly what Myers and Kline hope—facilitate an up-close, even intimate experience with the Hebrew text of these remarkable poems. But make no mistake about it: this is not a primer useful only for novices. An amazing amount of thought and research has gone into this volume (the appendix on accents alone is worth the price of the book), ensuring that it will be of great use even to seasoned readers and researchers of the Psalms. I am already praying that Myers and Kline will do the rest of the Psalter . . . soon!”
—Brent A. Strawn, Professor of Old Testament and Professor of Law, Duke University

“In the meticulous care Myers and Kline have put into presenting the Hebrew of these forty ‘beloved’ psalms in an accurate and accessible manner, they have performed an evident labor of love that promises to stoke the reader’s passion for the beauties of these texts and the Hebrew language. The volume’s carefully designed format invites readers across the range of facility in this language into a deeper encounter with and greater love for the Psalms.”
—Will Kynes, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University

Available here:
https://www.christianbook.com/hebrew-reader-the-psalms-beloved-texts/pete-myers/9781683072720/pd/153047

Desperation, bitterness, and fear not only bring people to doubt themselves but also God. Psalm 13 can help enter into a conversation with God and overcome the hopelessness. This article demonstrates how the path that Ps 13 follows can also be significant for the modern reader. It leads us through a process of prayer in which we move from complaint through petition into a new trust and God as well as (anticipatory) praise. The article also responds to (Christian) objections to the legitimacy of complaint, emphasizing the importance of this form of speech with God.

Psalm 78 contains the greatest number of uses of the hiphil verb stem in the Hebrew Psalter. Most uses are causatives which can emphasise arguments that were originally oblique or elliptical and also demote or omit arguments in the original clause. This study explores clauses with hiphil tokens in Psalm 78 in light of possible inner-biblical allusions. It is argued that the hiphil form is used in Psalm 78 as a syntactic tool to emphasise divine intervention in key biblical-historical events. God's activity is set in the foreground of the psalm by reporting divine acts in the third person through the divine authority of the opening first-person narrator. The use of the hiphil stem corresponds in most cases with the setting of God as subject, often by substituting human actors and syntactic demotion of inanimate objects as divine instruments. This literary technique of divine subject substitution is used to highlight the faithfulness of God in the past as grounds for the divine indictment against the unfaithful generations of Israel. There is also some evidence of reverse subject substitution such that divine hope for Judah and the mission of God's people is vested in the Davidic shepherd.

What are the New Testament writers doing with Israel's psalms? Ben Witherington III attempts to answer this question by examining select psalms across the Psalter and their usage in the New Testament in Psalms Old and New. In this review, I highlight several issues that are worthy of further reflection.

The purpose of this research paper is not to address the application of Thirtle’s Theory over and against the Psalter which amounts to affording credibility to its conclusions before the actual theory is verified. Rather, the purpose is to focus directly on the presuppositions and the premise of the theory to demonstrate that the theory itself lacks sound argumentation as well as any paleographical evidence whatsoever to make it credible.

Psalm 37 uchodzi za zbiór sentencji mądrościowych, przypominający Księgę Przysłów. Szczegółowa analiza tego Psalmu prowadzi do wniosku, że jest on kunsztowną kompozycją (pomijając drobne redakcyjne uzupełnienie) i jako taki powinien być interpretowany. Rzeczowo przynależy on do Psałterza (umieszczony w końcowej części pierwszego Psałterza Dawidowego), gdyż z naciskiem wzywa odbiorcę do pokładania ufności w Bogu, który ocala sprawiedliwego, a niegodziwego przywodzi do zagłady. Jest znacznie bardziej niż zbiory z Księgi Przysłów naznaczony religijnie i liturgicznie.

INDICE




I. VIAGGIO IN INGHILTERRA (SHADOWLANDS)

II. LE «TERRE DELL’OMBRA

III. ANELITI DI RISURREZIONE NEI SALMI
III.1. La speranza di un dubbioso nel Dio della vita
A. «Ho invidiato i prepotenti, vedendo il successo dei malvagi»
B. «… finché non entrai nel santuario di Dio e compresi…
C. «Poi mi accoglierai nella gloria

III.2. La speranza di un convertito nel Dio della vita
A. «Il mio Signore sei tu, solo in te è il mio bene
B. «Nelle tue mani è la mia vita
C. «Non abbandonerai la mia vita negli inferi

IV. LA SPERANZA DI CRISTO DI RISORGERE DAI MORTI

V. LA SPERANZA DEI CRISTIANI DI RISORGERE DAI MORTI
V.1. La morte e la risurrezione «con» Cristo e «come» lui
A. La preghiera dei cristiani partecipa a quella di Cristo
B. Le esequie cristiane  e gli altri «esercizi di vita eterna
C. Il «corpo spirituale» di Cristo e dei cristiani

V.2. La preghiera non solo «per» i defunti, ma soprattutto «con» loro

V.3. L’unica creatura terrena capace di gesti dal valore eterno

NOTE

SUGGERIMENTI BIBLIOGRAFICI
1. Per pregare i salmi
2. Per riflettere sui salmi
3. Per riflettere sulla risurrezione e sulla vita eterna
4. Per riflettere sulla preghiera cristiana
5. Per riflettere su Dio e sul male

INDICE

Contrary to the dominant view in scholarship, the ציים, depicted as kneeling down before the king, in Ps 72:9a have to be interpreted not as exotic peoples from the desert but rather as hostile desert animals. The passage thus illustrates the imagined universal reign of the king. Against the backdrop of the later understanding of ציים as demons, the verse may be considered a potential starting point for the tradition of Solomon as ruler over demons.

Die Psalmen sind bei vielen Menschen beliebt und gelten als ermutigende Lieder- und Gebetssammlung der Bibel. Wenn in diesen Gebeten aber von „Feinden“ die Rede ist, finden sich heftige Aussagen der Vergeltung: Wie gehen wir damit um und was haben uns diese „Rachepsalmen“ heute noch zu sagen? (Gekürzter und überarbeiteter Auszug aus: Werkbuch Psalmen III: Theologie und Spiritualität des Psalters und seiner Psalmen, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2010, 122–126).

The Book of Psalms is beloved by many people and is considered to be a collection of inspiring songs and prayers in the Bible. However, when “enemies” are mentioned in these prayers, one sometimes encounters violent statements about retribution. How do we respond to this and what have these “psalms of revenge” to say to us in our age? (Abridged and revised excerpt from: Werkbuch Psalmen III: Theologie und Spiritualität des Psalters und seiner Psalmen, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2010, 122-126).

Are you interested in purchasing a copy? Please send me an e-mail!

This is a study of the formation of the ‘Book’ of Psalms that attempts to provide 
answers to two fundamental questions: “how?” and “why?”. The first relates to the diachronic growth of the collection (how are these processes to be reconstructed, and on what grounds?), while the second relates to questions of purpose (to what end are psalms being juxtaposed in a collection?). Proceeding from a review of the research on these intertwined issues (not least the ground-breaking work of Gerald H. Wilson), David Willgren argues that one fundamental 
aspect is still in need of consideration, namely to understand what is designated by the term ‘book’ in relation to the ‘Book’ of Psalms. What kind of collection does it imply? By conceptualizing the ‘Book’ of Psalms as an anthology, and by inquiring into its poetics by means of paratextuality, Willgren reframes the current discussion, and relates the formation process(es) to ancient material and scribal cultures. After a chapter on comparative ancient anthologies, he provides an overview of the ‘psalms’ scrolls from the Judean Desert, followed by an analysis of possible paratexts (prefaces, superscriptions, colophons, doxologies, etc.). Then, he searches for traces of collections of psalms in texts ranging from the Hebrew Bible up until the second 
century CE. Relating these observations to each other, Willgren provides a fresh reconstruction of the formation of the ‘Book’ of Psalms and concludes, in contrast to the canonical 
approach, that the ‘Book’ of Psalms does not primarily provide a literary context for individual psalms. Rather, it preserves a dynamic selection of psalms that is best seen not as a book of psalms, but as a canon of psalms.

In Ps 1,2 it is assumed that the readers understand the expression the Torah of Yahweh and so no interpretation is provided. The phrase acquires its meaning by means of referents external to the psalm (cf. Josh 1; 24). Psalm 1 displays anaphoric (to the Pentateuch and the Prophets) and cataphoric references (to the Psalter) and these two sets of references are connected to each other. The concept of the Torah of YHWH in its context establishes a fundamental moment in the metatextual function of Ps 1 with regard to the Psalter. The Psalter is connected to the authoritative Scriptures (Torah and Nebi’im) and understood as belonging itself to the Torah of YHWH.

The motif of weeping in the Psalter has not been a subject of previous study. Scientific study of weeping indicates that crying is a behavior motivated by the need for relationship and care-giving and that tears generate powerful reactions in those who witness them. In the Psalms, speakers draw on the powerful non-verbal eloquence of weeping by mentioning their tears in the contexts of their prayers in order to motivate God to help. This article describes how the motif of weeping functions in the Psalms and analyzes its distribution in the Psalter.

In my walk with my Holy Father the lover of my life; I do not always take pleasure in the ways He is remolding me, breaking me, though I trust Him in whatever He may decide to do with my life. For by my own free will I have given him everything of me for His pleasure and Glory to the end.

No matter my season of life I trust it

The Psalms are prayers and songs, words spoken by the people of God to their God. Their dialogical nature invites the community of faith to sing, pray, speak, and enact these words so that we too might enter into conversation both with and about God. The Psalms are also Scripture, part of the canon through which the church seeks to discern the divine discourse, to hear the voice of God. The Psalms are thus both the words of the people to God, and the word of God to the people. How are these two perspectives to be held in tension? How can participating in psalmic conversations about and with God enable us also to hear God speak?
The  Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120–134), contain very few explicit theological statements and only a handful of declarations about the character of God. Instead, their theological vision emerges primarily by inviting conversation with and about God. Furthermore, rather than using direct metaphors about God, such as the familiar images of king, rock, and refuge found throughout the rest of the Psalter, this collection uses a number of what I have called ‘open metaphors’, where an image is used for the people from which a corresponding role for God can be inferred. In this paper, I will provide a brief overview of the performance research undertaken and some of the audience responses received. I will then explore three of these open metaphors, as well as the overarching metaphor of pilgrimage which provides the canonical frame for this collection of psalms, and consider how these images help reframe the
community’s relationship with a God who is not easily defined or restrained, but is engaged within an ongoing, transformative conversation.